King James Version · Under Rome
Acts 15
Touch any underlined name to see who or where it is. Tap a verse number to see where it is taken up elsewhere.
And certain men which came down from taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be after the manner of , ye cannot be . When therefore and had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that and , and certain other of them, should go up to unto and about this question. And being brought on their way by , they passed through and , declaring the conversion of the : and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. And when they were come to , they were received of , and of and , and they declared all things that had done with them. But there rose up certain of the sect of the which , saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep of . And and came together for to consider of this matter. And when there had been much disputing, rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago made choice among us, that the by my should hear the word of , and . And , which knoweth the , them , giving them the Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their by . Now therefore why ye , to put a upon the neck of , which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we that through the of we shall be , even as they. Then all kept silence, and gave audience to and , declaring what miracles and wonders had wrought among the by them. And after they had held their peace, answered, saying, Men and brethren, unto me: Simeon hath declared how at the first did visit the , to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of ; as , After this I will return, and will build again the of , which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after , and all the , upon whom my name is called, saith , who doeth all these things. Known unto are all his works of the world. Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the are turned to : But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from . For of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the every . Then pleased it and , with the whole , to send chosen men of their own company to with and ; namely, surnamed Barsabas, and , chief men among the brethren: And they wrote letters by them after this manner; and and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the in and and : Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your , saying, Ye must be , and keep : to whom we gave no such : It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved and , Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our . We have sent therefore and , who shall also tell you the same things by . For it seemed good to the Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from , and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. So when they were dismissed, they came to : and when they had gathered together, they the epistle: Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation. And and , being also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them. And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto . 34Notwithstanding it pleased to there still. also and continued in , teaching and preaching the word of , with many others also. And some days after said unto , Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of , and see how they do. And determined to take with them , whose surname was Mark. But thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so took Mark, and sailed unto ; And chose , and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the of . And he went through and , confirming the churches.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
Christians read this chapter differently
- Where does the church's authority come from? · Acts 15
- Should Christians keep the biblical feasts? · Acts 15:1-29
- Which of God's laws still bind a Christian? · Acts 15:1-29
- Who decides, in a church? · Acts 15:1-29
Every view at its strongest, with who holds it and what it has to answer for.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.